Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Fortrea shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $25.98 and last changing hands near $25.57, up from a $24.43 prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Deutsche Bank and Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus is still “Hold” with an average price target of $22.80.
• Fortrea beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.23 in EPS versus $0.18 expected and revenue of $678.2 million versus $647.6 million estimated. However, the company posted a negative net margin, and its CEO sold shares to cover tax obligations tied to vested equity awards.

Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $25.98 and last traded at $25.5650, with a volume of 1,386,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Fortrea from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. William Blair upgraded Fortrea to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $23.00 price target on Fortrea in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Fortrea from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.80.

Fortrea Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $19.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.66.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $678.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $647.57 million. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 3.18% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fortrea Holdings Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $1,913,490.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,069,830.52. This trade represents a 23.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FTRE. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortrea in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortrea during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Fortrea by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,923 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fortrea by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 9,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 5,647 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Fortrea in the 1st quarter valued at about $100,000.

Fortrea Company Profile

Fortrea Holdings Inc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company helps clients plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the testing of new medicines and therapies from early-stage research through regulatory approval and post-approval activities.

Its services include Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials, clinical operations, patient recruitment and access, data management, biostatistics, medical monitoring, pharmacovigilance and regulatory support.

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